Story: Tindel and the Book
This article is the text of the Short Story Tindel and The Book as written by Thornbrier. '' : It was a cold morning, as all mornings were in the city of Ise. After all, Ise was far from the Plains of Pyro, and in an area which had no seasons. This morning was no different then all the others, but that did not mean the entire day would be so un-extraordinary. On this morning, again, like so many others, Princess Tindel stood on her grand veranda, draped in many thick furs to keep out the cold, looking out into the great forests of Float Oak that was her peoples industry. Princess Tindel was not your typical princess. Though if you actually looked at the statistics she was, for most Princesses were not proper as they were each told all the other Princesses were. Tindel, like so many other princesses, was taught the traditional things a princess should be taught. Things like dancing, etiquette, embroidery, and how to appear to be aloof of all things happening around them, among many other boring things. However, on this morning, Tindel had hope in her heart that things would not always be so boring. The night before, right after one of her boring aloofery lessons, Tindel had snuck into the library to read (her father had restricted what she was allowed to read to only include stories of brave Princes saving the beautiful Princesses). It was there that she had come across a most amazing little book. Within its mysterious pages was the story of an [improper princess and her amazing adventures.] While the story seemed to fit her perfectly, some things struck her as odd. The story could not have been a history, for she could not figure out any nations that matched the description. The book was not created in any way she was familiar with, for its binding seemed to be a soft parchment with amazing artistry on it. The artistry was not painted on, nor engraved in any way, and the words could not have been written by even the most accomplished of scribes, not with such uniformity and absolute consistency. Her logic dictated that the book must be a creation of magic, but no product of magic had ever felt so real, so ancient and somehow original. She had stolen the book from the library, and its absence did not trigger the alarms, its presence in her coat did not alert the ever vigilant Castle Sensor, and even her magic wardrobe did not alert her father to her hiding it within its drawers. She spent all that night reading the tales of adventure, working with dragons, fighting wizards, making friends with witches and giants, and the king’s masterful manipulation of the fabric of magic[1]. That was yet another thing assuring her it was not a history, the magic seemed to follow different rules then she had learned in her forbidden history reading. The book almost seemed to belong to another world, beyond what her people knew existed, this she knew deep down, but could not explain. Gathering the courage to do as her Heroine from the book had, she stood on the veranda, clutching the book under her furs. Finally, she walked to the edge and declared to the sunrise in a load voice, “I would rather be eaten by a dragon!” To her surprise, she did not receive a response. Or did she? If so it was not in the way she was expecting, so she waited for it just a little longer, and longer, and longer. Eventually the servants came to get her ready for the new day, a normal day like all the others before it. Tindel was more depressed then ever, her only hope had been shattered. Little did Tindel know, her declaration had indeed caused something to happen. It had, with her unknown innate magic power, penetrated into a deep and seldom touched portion of the Dreaming. There it sped across space and time, swirling around the sleeping minds of ancient creatures, until it awoke one of them. “Today we shall begin your practice for being scared of mice. I have checked your chair, it will support your weight when you stand upon it. Now, you remember the scream from last week child? That is the one you use when you jump away from the mouse. Are you ready child?” Of all the things Tindel had been forced to learn, training to be scared of mice was the third stupidest she had heard of, and the other two she could not remember at the moment. So it was that when the professor opened the cage, Tindel picked up the mouse and kissed it (well knowing she was running the risk of it turning into a prince, whom she would then be forced to marry). The rotund professor stormed off in a silent furry as it was unfashionable to show any high emotions. All the better, for now, at least until her father came to reprimand her, she could sit and think. What could she have done better; why had it not worked for her like it did in the book? It was in this time of thinking that a man in black robes seemed to materialize through the chalkboard covered wall (and not where she knew the secret door was located). The man strode towards her and, by a combination of instinct and training, she let loose with exactly the proper scream for the situation. As the scream began to leave her throat the man raised his hand and stopped it in mid-air. It was a most peculiar situation to be in for she had a sound physically stuck half in and half out of her mouth, making it impossible to close or to make any other sound with her voice. When she tried to bite into it the scream reverberated through her jaw directly to her ears where it seemed to be magnified a thousand times loader then when she had created it. “Where is the book?” the man asked with a hint of aggravation in his voice. Calming herself from the experience, and seeing there was nothing her struggling would improve, Tindel pointed to her still open mouth indicating she could not tell him while she was thus bound. ''Focused thoughts will be sufficient. The words seemed to form within her mind, and she knew they where from the mysterious visitor. Not entirely sure she understood what he meant, she began, THE BOOK IS… she stopped as she saw the mans head recoil. CAN YOU HEAR ME? Yes, unfortunately. Please, quiet your mind, you have the loudest thoughts I have heard in nine thousand years, though I have been asleep for the last two thousand. Anyway, the book? Why do you need my book? she thought timidly. As close to accurate as it may be, it does not belong in this reality. The Four have charged me and my kind with finding all of the otherworld artifacts and removing them. They cause a cancer of divergence within the Arcs. '' Tindel was clearly confused by all of this, but she thought she suddenly understood something of it all. ''You are a dragon, aren’t you? Yes, I am. And no, I have no intention of eating you. Despite what the book claims, dragons have no need to eat. Nor do we steal princesses for servants, I usually get my servants on Vontrovor. They already know their place and what to do and I don’t have to deal with any spoiled attitudes. Now, since you have read it and I don’t have a means of wiping your memory, I will have to remove both it and yourself. You seem to be a powerful enough telepath, perhaps you would survive in my realm. Telepath, I am not a telepath. ''Yes, you are. I am not the one facilitating this conversation. Furthermore, only a powerful telepath could scream into the deep Dreaming loud enough to wake a slumbering dragon. I believe your declaration was “I would rather be eaten by a dragon.” A simple mis-quote from the divergent book. '' * * * Thus Princess Tindel met her first dragon, who removed her from the physical world, forever having endless adventures in a world purely created by her own mind. Category:CotAoE